Sacred sites teem with worshippers from across globe

ROME  Sunday morning Mass at the main altar inside St. Peter's Basilica is a crowded but sacred experience as people from many countries congregate for worship.

For free tickets, call 742-6800 or toll free at (866) 803-6873. The exhibit opens June 1.

A-J Religion Editor Beth Pratt is spending a week in Rome as preparations are made to send 31 medieval frescoes from the Vatican to Lubbock for display next year. This is a first in a series of reports from Italy.

Some were dressed in their Sunday best, complete with high heels for women and ties for men. Other were more casually dressed, with walking shoes to carry them through a day of sightseeing that begins in Vatican City.

But all were intent on worship in a city that once worshiped many gods and goddesses but for centuries has been the citadel of Christianity.

On Sunday at St. Peter's, a prayer was said for health workers and researchers "that their skills always be given as service to God."

The seating area in front of the altar filled early. Late-comers pressed in behind, some on tiptoes, to get an occasional glimpse of the officiating priest.

However, the sound was excellent, and most seemed unhindered even when their view was primarily the backs of taller worshippers.

Toward the end of the hour-long service, the heat generated by so many people standing close together began to melt the resolve of a few, who slipped out to get fresh air.

Outside, St. Peter's Square was filling.

The crowd gathered to hear Pope John Paul II officiate at the noon Mass from a window above the square.

His voice is weakened by Parkinson's disease, but still was clearly heard through a system of well-placed speakers.

For the outdoor worshippers, October delivered sunny, golden weather that calls only for a light sweater or jacket in the morning or evening.

Saturday morning, the vast Vatican museum complex had a line that wound, three or four people deep, around three sides of the city block. People of all ages and nationalities waited to see the art treasures contained in the 13 Vatican museums.

Lines to get into the museum are always long, said the Rev. Malcolm Neyland, in Rome to complete arrangements for shipping frescoes to Lubbock.

The Catholic Diocese of Lubbock and the Museum of Texas Tech are co-sponsoring the unique experiment in bringing treasures from the Vatican to a missionary diocese in West Texas.

"Traditions and Renewal: Medieval Frescoes from the Vatican Museums," will be displayed starting June 1, at the Museum of Texas Tech.

Free tickets, for a specific date and time of visit, can be reserved by calling 742-6800. Free long-distance calls are accepted at (866) 803-6873.

Museum officials are recording the date and time requests are made, and will mail tickets after Jan. 1 to those who have made reservations.